Friday, March 30, 2012

COMIC: Top of the Stack - Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris #11 (Review)

Writer: Robert Place NaptonArtist: Carlos RafaelCover: Ale Garza

Publisher: Dynamite EntertainmentPrice: $3.99

Despite not having much experience with the books, I have always found the fictional world created by Edgar Rice Burroughs fascinating and as a result routinely picked up Dynamite's offerings of 'Mars' related series looking for that hook to justify my interest.

My persistence paid off this week when the most enjoyable comic book I read turned out to be WARLORD OF MARS: DEJAH THORIS #11 from Dynamite Entertainment.

Written by Robert Place Napton, who is currently behind three 'Mars' titles and quite familiar with the characters as a result, gives the series a different feel and voice from the others, which is probably why I like this book more than the others.

In this issue, the first start of a new story arc (which makes for a great jumping on point!), Dejah Thoris has taken a group of men to survey an area of land for deposits of Ersite and Forandus that earlier air scouts appeared to have spotted in the marshes. During their knowingly dangerous journey they come across a deadly tentacled creature in the water and barely avoid a flying predator when things take a turn once Dejah Thoris hears a voice calling her that no one else can hear.

On the art side, firstly, the cover by Ale Garza is just wonderful to look at. There is always that risk when the character is scantily clad like Dejah Thoris, that she might be drawn overly sexy for the sake of it, but here instead Dejah reflects beauty and power more than anything, which is carried over with the interiors by Carlos Rafael.

WARLORD OF MARS: DEJAH THORIS features a powerful female protagonist experiencing adventure, danger with a bit of fun thrown in for the readers amusement. Yes, the look and feel of the book is definitely presented for a more adult audience but that does not eliminate the possibility for the stories to be a breath of fresh air from the grim and gritty comics that are in abundance.

And the art can rival any other book out in the market today. One of the reasons this specific issue ended up on the top of my reading stack was how easy it was to just sit back and stare at the pages. It is worth a look from even those not familiar with the characters, you might just be surprised how hard it is to put down.

Look to buy the WARLORD OF MARS: DEJAH THORIS #11 digital comic on Comixology or Graphicly for $1.99